The Trump administration has been adamantly opposed to Russian energy projects, such as the Nord Stream II pipeline to Germany, because of the leverage it would give over Europe. (Zach Gibson/Bloomberg)
Washington Examiner: Ryan Zinke: Naval blockade is an option for dealing with Russia
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke says the U.S. Navy can blockade Russia if needed to keep it from controlling energy supplies in the Middle East as it does in Europe.
"The United States has that ability, with our Navy, to make sure the sea lanes are open, and, if necessary, to blockade ... to make sure that their energy does not go to market," Zinke said on Friday at an industry event in Pittsburgh hosted by the Consumer Energy Alliance.
He was there to explain why hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and the shale energy boom has given the U.S. an edge over its rivals Russia and Iran, by making the U.S. less dependent on foreign sources of energy.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: This is an incredibly stupid remark from a U.S. cabinet official. A U.S. naval blockade of Russian energy exports will be seen by Russia as a declaration of war. No "ifs or buts" about it.
Update: Russia's reaction is blunt .... Naval blockade would mean ‘war’: Moscow slams US idea of hampering Russian trade (RT).
Agreed..that was a stupid remark. You can't just unilaterally block a country's right to navigate its ships in international waters. I rarely support Russia on merit but this time they are right to respond like this. I think the admiral was just spitballing about capabilities without thinking things through... and the military should not be used to enforce economic doctrine. Those are kept separate otherwise we'd be at war with everyone, because economically everyone competes -mostly fairly - except for China of course
ReplyDeleteAgreed too! Why someone has to say something like that?
ReplyDelete"I think the admiral was just spitballing about capabilities..." It's questionable at best to blithely assume the US has such capabilities. Russia is arguably militarily the most powerful country in the world. It's unwise to go around making statements such as this.
ReplyDeleteThis man needs to be fired immediately with a loss of pension. At best this man is arrogant and undisciplined. At worst, he is insane.
Aside from subs have you seen their navy?
DeleteNo comparison Not in their ability to project there power beyond their shores.
Heaven forbid anyone who chooses to invade her, but nukes not withstanding they are a super "regional" power.
B. Poster,
ReplyDeleteI understand your anger, of course, but behind the words there is a human. Be just a little bit tolerant even I share your anger.
The u.s is afraid to confront China over south China sea, north Korea over Nukes, Iran over syria, and he thinks they can deal with the Russian response to this nonsense.
ReplyDeleteYes the u.s could do it but it would cost them a few artificial reefs.
I'm pretty sure if war ever broke out we'd all be dead.
DeleteThat's what l mean, l don't get where he's,coming from.
DeleteJac,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reply. I reread my posts. Part of what I posted here may have been a bit over the top, especially the part about saying he should be fired immediately with the loss of his pension. A much better option would be to allow the man to resign with dignity while keeping his pension. From there he needs to go quietly into retirement avoiding the public. Essentially find himself a nice quite corner of the United States somewhere and stay out of the way.
You are correct to point out that beneath the incredibly stupid statement there is a human and we need to be mindful of this. After all of us have said and done things that are incredibly stupid at some point in our lives. In fact, I'm pretty sure I have posted some incredibly stupid things here. As the former great blogger Andrew Sullivan once said to paraphrase, "when I write things every day prolifically I will on occasion say something stupid."
The problem is if I do or say something stupid in my job, family, or personal life, it may cost someone money but no one is going to die and no one's long range economic survival is going to be endangered. When men in the position of Mr. Zinke make insane statements such as this, they place the lives of my loved ones and countrymen and women in even more danger than they already are. Furthermore our economic prospects are undermined as well.
I will reiterate the statement of him needing to be fired and suffer loss of pension may have been over the top and I apologize for it. Retirement with dignity is probably a better option in this instance. Hopefully outside of this instance his service records has been exemplary.
You speak of anger. Unless you are American as I am or have deep ties to America, very respectfully I am not sure you can understand the depth of my anger towards things like this. As an American it is the heads of my loved ones who are on the chopping block should things go awry in these situations. Those of other countries are in no such danger.
Fazman,
ReplyDelete"The US is afraid to confront..." Of course the government has trepidation over the things you mention. To confront them in the areas you mention in the manner that I think you would like them to is very risky, has no guarantee of success, and endangers American lives and economic interests beyond the peril they are already in. Now the insane admiral thinks it might be a good idea to blockade Russia.
"Aside from the subs..." and "nukes notwithstanding..." Very respectfully this is a bit like "other than the fact the Usain Bolt has strong legs that move very quickly, has a compact body that is built for speed, has trained for many decades to run at a high velocity, he is not a fast runner. We simply can't take these out of the equation. While we cannot "know" the outcome of conflict in advance, some reports indicate the Russian subs are among the world's most quiet and have been able to penetrate US costal defenses regularly. Other reports suggest that Russia has upgraded their nuclear arsenal and has the largest and most advanced arsenal of this type in the world combined with the world's best intel services along with possibly the best trained and best led troops on the planet.
I'd suggest a greater concern would be a Russian blockade of the US perhaps assisted by China and/or other allies than a blockade of Russia by the US. In fact, among the most lethal threats to the US would be an invasion by Russia, China, or both of them along with some combination of their allies. Part of this could well include a naval blockade of the US. While it might be difficult, I estimate their chances of being able to pull it off should they choose to do so would be about 80 to 90%. Should the US try and blockade Russia I liken this to jumping out of three story window head first onto the concrete below and not expecting bad things to happen.
Instead of thinking about a blockade of Russia, as an "interior secretary" and an admiral perhaps Mr. Zinke needs to be thinking about how we prevent a naval blockade of America and, if it does occur, how do we respond. Perhaps the admiral is not insane even if did make an insane statement.
From the tone of the posts here, I think we are all pretty much in agreement that such an idea as an attempted blockade of Russia is nonsense. If I have offended anyone, I apologize.
Russkie trolls all over this post
ReplyDeleteWhy not blame Obama? oh. right. He is not in office and has not been for two years
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteFred, you needn't remind me. I wake up every morning and exhale a vast sigh of great relief. If it were two centuries I would still respond the same.
The best people. The Best. DEALS only hires the best people.
ReplyDeleteIs America great again yet? I can't tell.
Good for you Roger
ReplyDeleteIn a recent poll, worldwide, Putin and the leader of China are now regarded as more trustworthy and admired than Trump. But stand by your man, as the song has it